GP2d has been established from the same adenocarcinoma as GP5d (ECACC catalogue no. 95090715). This has been confirmed by STR profiling at ECACC. The cells were derived from a local recurrence of Duke's grade B, poorly differentiated carcinoma of the colon from a 71 year old female at surgical resection. The patient received no preoperative chemo- or radiotherapy and had a strong family history of colon cancer with two first degree relatives dying of the disease below the age of 55 years. Both clones possess genetic changes consistent with the pattern of tumour progression in colon cancer but are morphologically distinct. An interstitial deletion on chromosome 5 (region 14q to 22q) and an inverted duplication of bands 10q11 and 10q21 has been reported. Both cell lines contain a normal copy of the ki-ras gene and a copy with a transition in codon 12. GP2d cells show growth response to EGF, TGF alpha or insulin with an increase in cell numbers. Amphiregulin mRNA is abundant in GP2d but almost undetectable in GP5d.

This line was initiated in 1972 by D.J. Giard, et al. through explant culture of lung carcinomatous tissue from a 58-year-old Caucasian male. Cells were described to induce tumors in athmyic mice and to synthesize lecithin.